And then there were 4.

Our son (aka 'Lake's baby') has been earthside now for 3 weeks. If you haven't yet seen the announcement all over social media, then I'll post his weekly pictures so far for you below...

 

Day 1  #BanksWeekly

 

Our little man is here at last!
Introducing Banks Vasiliy Maher.
‘Banks’ because another nature name and we thought it sounded pretty cool for both baby and a grown up dude .  ‘Vasiliy’, because his sister has a Russian middle name too and this is the name of both my grandfathers whom I dearly miss.
Born 18:18 on 17.01.19
55cm, 8.4 lbs
This is officially the Day 1 pic of #BanksWeekly so he will get a nice little collection just like #LakeWeekly after a year. We are crazy crazy in love.

 

 

Week 1  #BanksWeekly

 

Baby Banks is 7 days old today. The best 7 days of my life. Not even kidding. I just can’t get enough of you baby boy. Can’t put you down. Can’t stop kissing you. Can’t stop cuddling you. Can’t believe my luck. Can’t get over how amazing your big sister is. Can’t get enough of seeing the two of you together- you listening to her, her gently kissing your whole face. I want these moments to last forever.
P.S. the gorgeous knitting is by Gran who is here with us, the blankey is from Auntie Alissa and the toy doggie is a gift from big sister Lake.
#BanksMaher #BanksWeekly

 

 

Week 2  #BanksWeekly

 

‘I like naps & I like you’...Auntie BB’s gift that keeps on giving, because Banksy’s big sister wore this onesie 3 years ago. Though she was more like 8 weeks old, not 2 weeks! This boy is going to be tall no doubt. And just check out those booties 😍 literally obsessed with Gran’s knitting. #mustlearntoknit. For those familiar with ‘My Breastfeeding Nightmare’ blog post, I’m pumped to report that BF this time around is a veeeerrry different experience and the little munchkin was already back to his birth weight by day 5, then by day 10 he already gained 200g. He truly is a dream. THE dream. Doesn’t really cry, just feeds, then folds into a froggie for cuddles on my chest, sleeps for 3-4 hour stretches and only wakes up once in the night. I just love love love being a mama of 2! #BanksWeekly#BanksMaher

 

Week 3  #BanksWeekly

 

This tiny bundle of love is 3 weeks old today. Two big events for the past week- we parted with our beloved Gran who’s been here Banks’s whole life 😜 as she flew back to NZ and then just yesterday, on his Babushka’s birthday, baby boy gave us his first full on awake smile! In other news, we seem to have established a routine without even knowing it. At first I was just ‘feeding on demand’, then started to add regular fresh air walks to the equation, then daily chamomile tea baths. Also, we spent the first week co-sleeping and once he transitioned to his baby hammock (still right next to me), I tried to stick to this bed situ only for night sleeping so in turn he rewarded us with staying asleep in it for upto 5 hours at a time which meant only getting up once in the night to feed. I’m sure the feeding times will change again soon but here’s what they’ve been for the past 2 weeks:
7:30am
10:30am
1pm
4:30pm
7pm
9:30pm
3am
#notetoself #babyacne #handknitting#banksmaher #banksweekly

 

When my sister was 15, she got me a card for my 19th bday. 

 

On the front it read: 

“For my cool sis on her Birthday,

If you were any cooler...”

 

Then you open it and it reads: 

“...you’d be me”.

 

She figured that since it said everything she was thinking, she wouldn’t even need to sign it and presented the card to me as if it came straight from the greeting card stand in the store. 

 

When her birthday rolled around, I figured that’s a pretty perfect card to give her and to my delight it wasn’t marked or personalised.

 

I presented her with it, as is.

 

We continued this game for a couple more years till finally on her 19th bday, I broke the seal and wrote a short message taking up a small space inside, encouraging her to do the same next time. 

 

Since then, we’ve both said goodbye to our teenage years (and our 20’s), celebrated our 21st’s (and our 30th’s), graduations, weddings, a birth, citizenships, promotions, country relocations and career changes, and added inserts into the card...

 

But this card has remained the same.

 

Neither of us are card people and we don’t keep many ourselves, but this one isn’t just a birthday card. 

 

You can put a value on a birthday card, but our one is priceless.

 

It’s become such a vital treasure to our relationship that we fly it between London and New York only via the most securely packaged, express first class, trackable postal service available today.

 

Better yet, we deliver it to each other in person. And totally keep it on us as hand luggage. 

 

This year, for my sister’s 30th Birthday, I did just that and delivered it to her personally in Brooklyn! 

 

!! I just realised that the card is now exactly half her age! Whoa. Hope that doesn’t put you off starting one of these with each one of your siblings too! Or your spouses. Or children. Or friends. 

 

It’s literally such a fun thing to receive every single year, no present comes even close.

Do it Do it Do it!

Surprise!  Tanya’s is back and it’s eeeeeven better than before! ...If I may say so myself :) But honestly I do really think it's better than before, otherwise I would've never gone for such a drastic change. Keep reading to learn what's new. You might remember that almost three years earlier, in July 2014, I opened Tanya’s Cafe inside My Chelsea with pop-ups soon to follow at a Fitness Centre and in Selfridges. The cafe was hailed one of the top raw food restaurants in Europe and has seen clientele such as the Rolling Stones, Fearne Cotton, Millie Mackintosh, Lorraine Pascale, Julie Montagu and more! Operating from a single tiny kitchen in Chelsea, we had to turn down numerous opportunities to stock my famous guilt-free Cheezecakes, organic Living Lasagnas and Superfood drinks anywhere else. We decided to change that and closed the restaurant in November of last year for a big and super exciting remodel! [caption id="attachment_2493" align="aligncenter" width="1022"] source @kajaand on IG[/caption]   On 19th June 2017, Tanya’s opened its doors once again, but in a very new way!    Here's what's different: -We're now open from 7am till 11pm with the full menu restocked into the store’s fridges each morning. -Pop in on your way to work to pick up an Adventure Salad Bowl without the wait. -Our partnership with My Chelsea means that the beautiful newly refurbished The Living Room is now available to all of Tanya’s customers and My Chelsea guests, so if you’re after a Medicinal Mushroom Latte with coconut milk and your colleague needs her traditional Cappuccino (or vice versa), there’s no more need to dine in separate restaurants. -We made it easily accessible for you to pop in and either Grab’n’Go or Grab’n’DineIn. We've even installed our very own door from street level! -It’s very relaxed and there are now power points all throughout, so bring your laptop and work away in a green living environment. -Tanya’s partnership with Deliveroo and Quiqup means that you can get anything delivered throughout London! -My famous whole cakes are now available to purchase and collect in-store without preorder. Soon they will be available for online order also to be delivered across London.   Expect to see Tanya’s best-sellers at various London’s shops soon, but for now- come and be among the first to experience the brand-new Tanya’s and The Living Room. Aaaand for 7 days starting tonight (Monday 3rd July), you can get 2 meals for the price of 1 when Dining In or Taking Out (excludes delivery, cheapest free)!  Choose from Living Lasagna, Thai Curry Kelp Noodles, Adventure Bowls, a bunch of Salad Sides or Dipping Pots are all part of the deal!  

Some love notes and kudos

“Raw like you’ve never seen it before” -Vogue.co.uk "Everything at Tanya's is hand-picked, organically grown, ethically sourced and not to mention raw living and gluten free. So you can appease your inner eco-warrior while befitting your body with beautifying edibles." -FOUR magazine “London’s best healthy puddings” -Evening Standard “This beautiful (and supremely delicious) raw food restaurant is not to be missed” -Hip&Healthy “Detox, raw food expert and wellness coach opened up Tanya’s Cafe in Chelsea and it’s already become popular with food blogging superstars such as Deliciously Ella” -Stylist Magazine “Her recipes are accessible, even seductive” -The Daily Telegraph “Cafe owner Tanya knows her stuff, and proves it’s still possible to have a social life living raw” -Grazia  

About Tanya

Tanya Maher is a leading wellness coach and blogger with a dedicated following. She specialises in irresistible ultra-nutritious and energising plant-based meals for the whole family. Having intuitively turned to raw food to heal from horrific injuries she sustained in a near fatal car crash as a teen, Tanya went on to train at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to offer her clients in-depth health advice alongside practical knowledge on how to create delicious living food. Tanya is the author of ‘The Uncook Book- The Essential Guide to a Raw Food Lifestyle’, creator of Amazon #1 best-selling DVD ‘Raw Food 101- Your First Steps to the Healthiest Lifestyle Ever’ and co-founder of Tanya’s, her very own celebrity hang-out inside My Chelsea, serving unprocessed organic meals and indulgent guilt-free cheezecakes.     For more information on Tanya’s or to request high res images: info@tanyascafe.com www.tanyasliving.com  www.tanyascafe.com  www.betterraw.com   P.S. I promise I haven't forgotten to post the new 'What I feed my toddler in a day" video. Look out for that next! P.P.S. To celebrate the opening, I'll be running a very cool daily Giveaway worth lots and lots. Follow us on Facebook here>>, Instagram here>> or Twitter here>> to be the first to hear the news!

Today is all about yummy healthy foods for kids! I've had so so many requests to share what I feed Lake ever since she came along nearly 16 months ago, that I've had the brilliant idea of filming a whole day's worth of her food intake. So 'brilliant', that it took me an entire week to film it and then another week to paste it all together. (Mums and dads - I know you hear me!) But I did it and if you're into it, then prepare to see a monthly edition :) In this one short video, I cover everything from making seed milks from scratch to using supplements to three ingredient purees and raw porridges, as well as share my tips on how I keep her teeth clean of dehydrated fruits (it's not with a toothbrush). Enjoy watching and please let me know what you think! Happy Friday! P.S. There is already a post packed with three ingredient weaning recipes, here: http://betterraw.com/2016/08/healthy-baby-weaning-recipes-3-ingredients-less.html P.P.S. The Alkaline Cleanse returns in June! Check your inbox for all the details next week. Here's how to subscribe if you aren't already receiving my updates>>

Every year before it ends, Elliot and I sit down to write out all the big, small and tiny accomplishments of the previous 12 months.

This has become the single most important task I do all year.

There is nothing as incredibly thrilling, motivating, inspirational, fun, eye opening, gratifying, healing and self-appreciating all at the same time.

It’s too easy to say that another year just flew by and there are many things you never got a chance to do, but when you start to write down all the things you DID do, the experience is entirely different. The deep gratitude stirring within you, makes it so much easier to plan for the year ahead.

If I ever struggle to remember all the details on the spot, I open up my diary and go through it carefully. All those meetings, trips, events, tasks, highlighted dates, dinners and bookings in my calendar never fail to amaze and delight even the most pushy-never-enough-accomplished-critic within me.

It really is that powerful! And simple. And fun! So fun, what are you waiting for?

Happy Happy Happy New Year!
xTanya

P.S. Originally, I wrote out a few of my accomplishments as an example for you to read. They were so damn good and I was so madly proud that I figured it’s probably not the most inspirational example for anyone but me. It could even put you off starting your own list, not because no one would ever top my examples but because they couldn’t possibly compete with YOUR examples. There is no one (I repeat ‘NO ONE’) that has achieved what you have, do yourself a favour and stop reading already, unless it’s your online calendar of 2016 and you’re making notes!

P.P.S. Screw New Year resolutions, it’s all about the Old Year solutions!

P.P.P.S. Don’t ever listen to anyone that tries to tell you that 1st of January is just another day. It isn’t. It’s the best day ever!

P.P.P.P.S. If you’re still reading this, then it’s very likely that there’s nothing to do in the office at this time of year and my email was possibly the only email you’ll receive all day, so why not play a game. Here’s a game>>